But to me, getting an exemption from a law that every other business has to obey is no different that companies like Walmart getting property tax exemptions in other states. It creates an unfair business advantage for these companies at the expense of other companies. If we do not like it when liberals pick winners and losers in the business world we should not like it when conservatives do it as well.
I'd rather see taxes lowered all around. That is something that would indeed help the most people.
“Business presence” for the purposes of requiring a business to collect sales taxes has generally meant a retail sales facility. A distribution center, simply a hub for the shipping/distribution of order fulfillment and not open to the public to come in and shop, was never part of the definition of a business presence that would require collection of sales tax until some power and revenue hungry government official decided to change the rules.
I would prefer that rather than getting a temporary exemption Amazon would get either a statutory declaration from the legislature or an administrative declaration from the State Attorney General’s office that the distribution center does not constitute a “business presence” that requires collection of sales taxes from Texas residents for online purchases from such businesses that do not have retail sales facilities located in the state. This would ensure that Amazon and any other online catalog site that does not have retail stores in the state would be able to continue to operate under the business model that has worked so well to this point.